1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of armrests or supports, and more particularly to a novel portable arm support having a seat portion on which the user sits and an adjustable arm support with a cushion projecting upwardly from the seat portion.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Armrests serve an important function to provide comfort, reduce fatigue and improve posture while seated. There are many different armrest configurations. Some armrests are integrated into the seating device, as is the case with a sofa, love seat and park bench. Other armrests are located on a structure adjacent to the seating devices, such as the door in many cars, trucks and small aircraft. Many armrests are separate assemblies that are attached to the seating device, as is the case with office chairs.
It is very important that the armrest be stable so that it remains stationary as the arm of the user applies a load force to it. For this reason, nearly all armrests, including highly adjustable armrests, are permanently fastened in place. Armrest assemblies may be attached in place by any number of permanent or semi-permanent methods including but not limited to the use of mounting brackets, mounting hardware, male-female or female-male adapters, glue or clips.
Even though armrests stand to benefit both the left and right arms equally, many seating devices/locations only provide the user with one usable armrest at a time. The following partial list of examples includes the sofa couch and park bench which have two armrests, but they are so far apart from one another that a person can only use one at a time. Many small aircraft cockpits and pickup trucks with bench seats have armrests in each of the two doors, but not in the center. The two door armrests are too far apart to rest both arms on at the same time and were clearly never intended to be used for both arms. As a result of small aircraft cockpits only having one armrest many pilots go without an armrest in the inside arm. This can cause fatigue and discomfort, especially on long flights and strenuous activities. This problem affects two-seat training aircraft all the way up to corporate jets. This invention solves the problem and allows pilots and drivers of cars to use two armrests.
Adding a second armrest in the aforementioned seating device and other single-armrest seating devices/locations is impractical in many situations for several reasons. One reason is that after-market assemblies are not always available for a given seating device or location. Even if they are available, they cannot be permanently mounted (bolted or screwed in place) without permission from the owner of the seating device. This limits their use in rental cars and trucks, rented or chartered small airplanes, public places (park benches, stadium bleachers, high school gymnasiums), or friend's houses. When the use of the seating device is temporary, like a football game or a short ride in a taxi, permanent installation becomes even more out-of-the-question.
Therefore, a long-standing need has existed to provide a portable armrest employing the user's weight to provide stability and balance and which is adjustable for height and angular positioning for use in the aforementioned seating situations.